What is Talk for Writing? How can you help?
Here at Bramingham, we are one of the schools in Luton taking part in the Primary Writing Project: Talk for Writing. It aims to motivate children as writers, developing classrooms and whole schools where everyone is passionate about writing and passionate about reading.
The project is based on the idea that a child can't write a sentence if they can't say it and they can't say it if they haven’t heard it. Therefore, the children learn a bank of stories and texts off by heart before using the vocabulary and sentence structures they have rehearsed in their own writing.
Once they've learnt a text, children will then explore the features of it in order to embed what makes a good text of this particular type. They get to unpick what they like about it, 'play' with the different features with adult guidance and then have a go at writing their own independently. Pupils get particularly excited about their chance to create something of their own!
You may know that all classes now enjoy a time each day when their teacher reads to them. Each year group has a selection of stories that we believe all children should hear during their time at primary school. We have also purchased, with help from our Friends Association, a large selection of new reading books which are available for children to take home and share with you.
It has been an exciting journey for Bramingham so far which continues to excite both staff and pupils alike. We believe it will impact on the children’s enjoyment and passion for reading and writing which will ultimately have an impact on their attainment. At home, you can a play a huge part in helping to promote this passion for reading and writing.
There are many ways you can help by:
- Listening to your child read regularly at home
- Questioning your child about the text they are reading
- Asking your child to recite or perform the story they are learning in school – can they remember the actions?
- Reading texts from some of our recommended authors
- Discussing if your child can recognise a text type that they have learnt, in a book you are reading together
- Can they find some key features in the text with you?
Thankyou for your continued support, as always.
Miss Flowers
English Co-ordinator
